Author: Russ Wise From http://www.christianinformation.org/article.asp?artID=98

Witchcraft is on the rise and the youth of our culture are paying attention. They are enticed by witchcraft because they believe it offers them autonomy over their futures and yet they are naive about its consequences.


These young people are not simply naïve about their new-found belief. They are ill-informed about their Christian faith. Youth and adults alike often do not have a strong biblical foundation when it comes to rightly believing and understanding the teachings found in the Bible. As a result, they tend to doubt the reliability of the Scriptures and discount the gospel.


One’s worldview (the grid through which one views the world and his surroundings) shapes the individual’s beliefs and determines the route he or she takes to discover truth. Postmodernism1 is the predominate worldview of the day. Those who hold this view have a tendency to tolerate all others. Views that seem to be in opposition to one another are held in equality without one being superior to another. The view that one takes is determined by personal preference rather than its ability to justify truth claims. However, it is important to recognize that these same individuals do not accept worldviews that hold absolutist ideals, such as the Christian worldview.


Young people who have accepted postmodernism as their personal worldview are more susceptible to deception than those who hold a biblical worldview. They have a tendency to accept contradictory claims such as witchcraft without question because those truth claims are held by others who have personally experienced them. Their experience gives the claim credibility. A cognitive approach to understanding truth is seen as being too limiting. Experience is seen as the superior teacher.


Christian and non-Christian youth alike are equally open to this subtle form of deception. Many youth in our churches do not have an adequate understanding of their own faith and are often easily misled by false teachers and their own selfish desire to control their destiny. They do not want to accept a worldview that would cause them to obey someone or something beyond themselves. Postmodernism gives them the opportunity to build a belief system that they can relish and thereby be their own authority.


So, how do we witness to this postmodern youth and his or her peers? First, it may be helpful to understand some of the beliefs that these young people hold as truth.


·         They tend to question authority and any one understanding of truth.


·         They believe that all views are equally valid for their use. They are syncretistic.


·         They believe that truth is determined by experience rather than by knowledge.


·         They believe truth to be relative. It changes according to the current consensus.


·         They do not believe in absolute truth as seen in the Scriptures.


·         They desire oneness regarding spirituality. There is no one right way or truth.


Their desire to achieve oneness regarding spirituality and their rejection of all forms of authority leads them to a point of acceptance of all beliefs, even though this new “truth” may contradict their Christian faith or, at least, what they may know of it. This subjective understanding of life opens them up to spiritual manipulation and ultimately causes them confusion about who God is.


Once these new initiates have accepted the false premise that truth is experiential they no longer hold to an orthodox understanding of who God is and they begin to espouse an erroneous view of life. They often hold the following false assumptions:


·         They differentiate between black and white witchcraft or magick (magic).


·         They scoff at biblical teachings regarding the return of Christ. God(ess) is love and she would not send anyone to hell, if there was such a place.


·         They do not believe in absolute truth as defined in the Scriptures. There is no right or wrong, only freedom of choice.


·         They believe in the Law of Karma and reincarnation rather than the Law of God, judgment, and resurrection.


·         They do not believe in the Christian or biblical hell. Their understanding does not allow them to accept such a narrow view of eternity. In their view, the Goddess will provide a way for them to achieve oneness with the divine. Nature is considered to be deity. Mankind is but a part of this garden of divine understanding.

Do what thou wilt, but harm none. Or more commonly stated, “As long as your actions don’t hurt anyone, you can do whatever you want.” No consequences! This innocent phrase causes the new believer to think that witchcraft (wicca) is neutral in its outlook and expression. The Wiccan Rede is often given as an excuse to practice the craft. However, the Scriptures do not agree with this naïve conclusion.


The unaware individual considers that since they are not directly going in the direction of evil or the dark side they must be OK. They are practicing “white” magick or witchcraft and in their view it is compatible with their Christian faith, as weak as it may be. One growing aspect of wicca that affects the Christian with a minimal understanding of his faith is Christian Wicca. This is the blending of Christianity and witchcraft. This syncretistic model of belief is more wiccan than it is Christian. It is a form of Gnosticism and an introduction of pagan beliefs shrouded in Christian jargon.


The Sacred Feminine is another foundational aspect of this pseudo-Christian teaching. It emphasizes the idea that God is holistic and the trinity is in fact, God as Goddess, Father as Mother, and Jesus Christ as the Sophia, and the Holy Spirit as a feminine presence. This concept is taught by Miss Rawna Moon, a wiccan priestess, who encourages her initiates to construct an altar in their homes to help them focus on the “divine feminine”. Miss Moon states that, “Since we live out a good part of our spirituality within the structure of the Christian Church which tends to use masculine language for God, we balance this by using feminine language for Goddess in our life as a Witch.” She continues by stating, “An important way to keep this fresh in our daily life is to have a Goddess Altar in our home.


The concept of God as being both genders can be understood in light of ancient cultures and their recognition of the divine. “The Goddess was a symbol of the oceans, the earth, and the moon.” God, as male, was her other half, her consort. He was often seen as the sun. The ancient Greeks knew God as Helios the sun god and Selene the moon goddess. The Romans saw them as Apollo and Diana. The Egyptians saw them as Isis and Osiris. The indigenous peoples of North America saw them as Earth Mother and Father Sky. Wiccans consider them as their spiritual parents who guide them and keep them safe from the forces of evil.

Another attraction that entices young people is that wicca nests comfortably within the idea of perceived total freedom and sexual license. Anything that doesn’t hurt anyone and is consensual is alright. Once again this postmodern approach to right and wrong regarding sexual expression has dire consequences morally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.


The Wiccan Rede fosters such an attitude with its “harm none” code of ethics. Pre-marital sex, homosexuality, and other forms of sexual license are held in high regard and offered as personal choices for those who follow their own understanding.


Witchcraft has become the new form of rebellion for our youth. The disregard for authority, the “it’s all good” mentality, and the desired sexual freedom that accompanies witchcraft becomes a strong lure for many youth and adults. Just do what you want; no one can tell you it’s wrong. It is just another choice among many; live life your way. There are no consequences, no judgments, just choices!

When attempting to witness to a pagan it is important for the Christian to know what witchcraft is and is not. Wicca is a nature-centered belief system. Wiccans do not believe in Satan or any form of evil. Their view is that Satan is a Christian concoction and he is not real. Many wiccans believe the early church made him up so the hierarchy could control its membership and gain financially.


Wiccans view their belief system as a benign set of ideals. They honor the Goddess through their ecological practices. They use their knowledge to heal and to divine information that will help humanity. Their ultimate goal is to heal the planet, including man/womankind.


Although this is their desire and their goal is noble, it is misguided. The focus of the wiccan rests on the individual and the spells cast to bring about a desired result: healing the Earth or a simple sprain. It is the author’s contention that God does have a great concern about who receives the honor and glory when He has purposefully intervened in someone’s life and touched them. The important ingredient in the mix is our recognition of God’s hand at work in our lives and not our spell work.


Wiccans do not believe in sin or the need for forgiveness. If we are one with nature (read: Goddess) then how can we sin? We just are! There is no need to repent and seek forgiveness; we simply need to recognize our divine inheritance and oneness. Salvation, as it is understood, comes when the individual recognizes his or her oneness with the Goddess.

“Pagans do not appreciate being witnessed to.” Silver DawnHawk makes this abundantly clear in her essay Witnessing to a Witch. She reiterates that pagans do not need salvation. They have nothing to need saving from! She does, however, offer the Christian some decent advice. “Forget everything you have ever heard about paganism and instead see the person as just that, a person. Let them explain their religion to you, and do not accuse.”


Of course, her admonition would exclude the information above since it is taken from their writings. Her reference is to the depiction of witchcraft on television and elsewhere that distorts their true beliefs.